With the increased popularity of multiuser large-screen human-computer interfaces, there is a need to provide user interface tools for each user while maximizing screen real estate. Furthermore, there is a need to manage how the interaction of each user is recorded to the workspace and subsequently recorded to each user's individual device, such as a smart phone or software platforms that provide a service remotely through the Internet. Such networked services have storage for user data and profiles in the “cloud” using services such as Facebook®, Google Cloud storage, Dropbox®, Microsoft OneDrive®, or other services known in the art.
Multiple users frequently wish to interact with large touch screen displays as input, such as interactive whiteboards, touch-enabled displays such as high-definition televisions (HDTVs), projectors, etc. These interactive input systems include but are not limited to: touch systems comprising touch panels employing analog resistive or machine vision technology to register pointer input such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,448,263; 6,141,000; 6,337,681; 6,747,636; 6,803,906; 7,232,986; 7,236,162; 7,274,356; and 7,532,206 assigned to SMART Technologies ULC of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, assignee of the subject application, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated by reference; touch systems comprising touch panels or tables employing electromagnetic, capacitive, acoustic or other technologies to register pointer input; laptop and tablet personal computers (PCs); smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other handheld devices; and other similar devices. Several methods of identifying individual users are known in the art and disclosed in the references below.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,532,206 to SMART Technologies ULC, the entirety of the specification incorporated by reference, discloses a touch system and method that differentiates between different passive pointers used to contact a touch surface so that pointer position data generated in response to a pointer contact with the touch surface can be processed in accordance with the type of pointer used to contact the touch surface. The touch system comprises a touch surface to be contacted by a passive pointer and at least one imaging device having a field of view looking generally across the touch surface. At least one processor communicates with the at least one imaging device and analyzes images acquired by the at least one imaging device to determine the type of pointer used to contact the touch surface and the location on the touch surface where pointer contact is made. The determined type of pointer and the location on the touch surface where the pointer contact is made are used by a computer to control execution of an application program executed by the computer.
United States Patent Publication No. 2011/0242060 to SMART Technologies ULC, the entirety of the specification incorporated by reference, discloses an interactive input system having at least one imaging assembly that captures image frames of a touch region. A pointer placed within the touch region modulates an emitted infrared light using a different combination of subcarrier frequencies that are captured in the image frames. A processing structure demodulates the captured image frames to determine frequency components thereof and examines the frequency components to determine at least one attribute of the pointer.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0137015 titled “Method and Apparatus for Manipulating Digital Content”, the entirety of the specification incorporated by reference, assigned to SMART Technologies ULC discloses an interactive input system having a pen tool whereby removal of the pen tool from the tool tray conditions the Digital Signal Processor (DSP) controller to check if a modulated signal is output by the pen tool. If no modulated signal from the pen tool has been received, the controller simply remains in a ready state awaiting such a modulated signal. When the pen tool is brought into contact with the display surface, the pen tool emits a modulated signal that is received by the wireless unit connected to the DSP. The DSP checks to determine whether a specific attribute has been assigned to the pen tool, for example colour, or whether a default attribute has been assigned to the pen tool. The DSP controller then uses the modulated signal-to-pen tool mode mapping to determine whether the writing end or erasing end of the pen tool has been used to contact the display surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,498,590 to Dietz and further described in Dietz et al., “DiamondTouch: A multi-user touch technology,” Proc. User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) 2001, pp. 219-226, 2001 discloses a multi-user touch system including a surface on which are a pattern of mounted antennas. A transmitter transmits uniquely identifiable signals to each antenna. Receivers are capacitively coupled to different users and are configured to receive the uniquely identifiable signals. A processor then associates a specific antenna with a particular user when multiple users simultaneously touch any of the antennas. Through identifying particular users, the system has the ability to generate virtual personal work areas. Although the system is designed for group collaboration on a common surface, in practice, individuals may want to “break away” to briefly address some subset of the problem, and then wish to integrate their result into the whole. When these situations arise, the system can generate a virtual personal work area in front of the appropriate user that only responds to that user. The user can then manipulate objects in this space, without impacting the larger work effort of other users but for the loss of some screen space. Because these virtual personal work areas are software defined, they can be generated and destroyed on the fly, in any shape as desired.
Many models of interactive whiteboards sold by SMART Technologies ULC under the name SMARTBoard™ that employ machine vision technology to register pointer input have a tool tray mounted below the interactive whiteboard surface that comprises receptacles or slots for holding a plurality of pen tools as well as an eraser tool. These tools are passive devices without a power source or electronics. When a tool is removed from its slot in the tool tray, a sensor in the tool tray detects the removal of that tool allowing the interactive whiteboard to determine that the tool has been selected. SMARTBoard™ software in turn processes the next contact with the interactive whiteboard surface as an action from the selected pen tool, whether the contact is from the selected pen tool or from another pointer such as a finger or other object. Similarly, when the eraser tool is removed from its slot, the SMARTBoard™ software processes the next contact with the interactive whiteboard surface as an erasing action, whether the contact is from the eraser tool, or from another pointer such as a finger or other object. Additionally, two buttons are provided on the tool tray. One of the buttons, when pressed, allows the user to execute typical “right click” mouse functions, such as copy, cut, paste, select all, etc. while the other button when pressed causes an onscreen keyboard to be displayed on the interactive whiteboard surface allowing users to enter text, numbers, etc. Although this existing tool tray provides satisfactory functionality, it is desired to improve and expand upon such functionality.
It is an object of the invention described herein to identify the user interacting with the interactive input device and provide an improved system and method of interaction with the multiuser touch screen.